What's New? Updates from the CFAR

Duke CFAR Newsletter - March 2, 2022


In this newsletter:

Upcoming Events

NIH Resources

Newly Published

Recognizing National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10

Two young Black women smile and hug outside with a tree in the background. Text reads "March 10 - National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day"

March 10th is the 17th annual observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). We continue to make progress towards eliminating HIV and AIDS in the U.S., but women remain vulnerable to infection — especially black or African-American and Hispanic women. Black women accounted for the largest share of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2018. Poverty, stigma, medical mistrust, and fear of discrimination often prevent some women from getting tested or from seeking care.


An estimated 14% of transgender women have HIV. Transgender women experience stigma and discrimination and often encounter healthcare providers or clinics lacking knowledge of transgender issues or proper inclusive language. These all pose obstacles to HIV testing, prevention, and care that can be addressed among transgender women. Learn more about NWGHAAD and access additional resources from the Office on Women's Health here.

Upcoming Events

Inter-CFAR Working Group on HIV Research in Women Seminar: 2022 CROI Report Back


Wednesday, March 9th | 12-1pm EST


Presenters:

Lynn Mofenson, MD - Branch Chief for Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease, NICHD

Caitlin Moran, MD, MSc - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University


Join the Inter-CFAR Working Group on HIV Research in Women for a report-back on relevant research presented at CROI 2022. Interested investigators can also sign up to join the working group here.


Register for the Zoom event here.

Flyer with symposium date and details

Sign up for the Duke Sexual and Gender Minority Health Symposium


March 21st and 22nd | 12 - 5pm EDT


Experts from around the country will discuss such topics as: the intersection of race and being transgender or non-binary in the US; current questions around teens transitioning; participation of transgender and non-binary persons in sports; effects of recent legislative decisions on ability to receive gender affirming care; queer experiences of neurodiversity; aging as a transgender or gender expansive person; and pushing the boundaries of SGM health.


Learn more and register here.

NIH Resources

NIH Early Career Investigator Resources

Screenshot of the OAR Early Career Investigators resources page, featuring photo of two researchers in a lab

The NIH Office of AIDS Research gathered comprehensive input on how to improve outreach to the next generation of HIV investigators and effectively address training and capacity-building programs. In response to the significant input received, NIH OAR developed an HIV early career investigator page to centralize relevant information for investigators.


Categories of resources include:

  • Grant Submission Dates and Peer Review Resources
  • HIV Resources: NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) Resources
  • NIH special programs, conferences, and opportunities
  • HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) information
  • Career Path Options
  • HIV Funding Opportunities


Explore the resources here.

New Biosketch Format


The biosketch format page has been updated for application due dates and RPPR submissions on/after January 25, 2022. Specific changes and details are noted in NOT-OD-21-073 and include changes to the Research Support and Other Support sections.


Access the form and instructions here.

Newly Published

Broadly binding and functional antibodies and persisting memory B cells elicited by HIV vaccine PDPHV.

Wang S, Yates NL, Pollara J, Voronin Y, Stanfield-Oakley S, Han D, Hu G, Li W, Ferrari G, Tomaras GD, Lu S.

NPJ Vaccines. 2022 Feb 9;7(1):18. doi: 10.1038/s41541-022-00441-9.


Effects of substance use on monetary delay discounting among people who use stimulants with and without HIV: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Xu Y, Towe SL, Causey ST, Dennis PA, Meade CS.

Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2022 Feb;30(1):39-50. doi: 10.1037/pha0000423. Epub 2020 Aug 6.


Structure and Fc-Effector Function of Rhesusized Variants of Human Anti-HIV-1 IgG1s.

Tolbert WD, Nguyen DN, Tuyishime M, Crowley AR, Chen Y, Jha S, Goodman D, Bekker V, Mudrak SV, DeVico AL, Lewis GK, Theis JF, Pinter A, Moody MA, Easterhoff D, Wiehe K, Pollara J, Saunders KO, Tomaras GD, Ackerman M, Ferrari G, Pazgier M.

Front Immunol. 2022 Jan 6;12:787603. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.787603. eCollection 2021.


Sauti ya Vijana (SYV; The Voice of Youth): Longitudinal Outcomes of an Individually Randomized Group Treatment Pilot Trial for Young People Living with HIV in Tanzania.

Dow DE, O'Donnell KE, Mkumba L, Gallis JA, Turner EL, Boshe J, Shayo AM, Cunningham CK, Mmbaga BT.

AIDS Behav. 2022 Jan 24:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03550-z. Online ahead of print.


Polyclonal Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Activity Characterized by CD4 Binding Site and V3-Glycan Antibodies in a Subset of HIV-1 Virus Controllers.

Nyanhete TE, Edwards RJ, LaBranche CC, Mansouri K, Eaton A, Dennison SM, Saunders KO, Goodman D, Janowska K, Spreng RL, Zhang L, Mudrak SV, Hope TJ, Hora B, Bradley T, Georgiev IS, Montefiori DC, Acharya P, Tomaras GD.

Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 23;12:670561. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.670561. eCollection 2021.


HIV reservoir quantification by five-target multiplex droplet digital PCR.

Levy CN, Hughes SM, Roychoudhury P, Amstuz C, Zhu H, Huang ML, Lehman DA, Jerome KR, Hladik F.

STAR Protoc. 2021 Oct 11;2(4):100885. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100885. eCollection 2021 Dec 17.


Attitudes Toward Pregnancy Among Women Enrolled in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) Services in Moshi, Tanzania.

Knippler ET, Mwamba RN, Coleman JN, Knettel BA, Minja LM, Kisigo GA, Ngocho JS, Cichowitz C, Mmbaga BT, Watt MH.

AIDS Behav. 2021 Dec;25(12):4008-4017. doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03339-0. Epub 2021 Jun 14.


Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of a Long-Acting Broadly Neutralizing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Monoclonal Antibody VRC01LS in HIV-1-Exposed Newborn Infants.

McFarland EJ, Cunningham CK, Muresan P, Capparelli EV, Perlowski C, Morgan P, Smith B, Hazra R, Purdue L, Harding PA, Theron G, Mujuru H, Agwu A, Purswani M, Rathore MH, Flach B, Taylor A, Lin BC, McDermott AB, Mascola JR, Graham BS; International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT) P1112 Team.

J Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 1;224(11):1916-1924. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab229.


FlowKit: A Python Toolkit for Integrated Manual and Automated Cytometry Analysis Workflows.

White S, Quinn J, Enzor J, Staats J, Mosier SM, Almarode J, Denny TN, Weinhold KJ, Ferrari G, Chan C.

Front Immunol. 2021 Nov 5;12:768541. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.768541. eCollection 2021.


A global call for talaromycosis to be recognised as a neglected tropical disease.

Narayanasamy S, Dat VQ, Thanh NT, Ly VT, Chan JF, Yuen KY, Ning C, Liang H, Li L, Chowdhary A, Youngchim S, Supparatpinyo K, Aung NM, Hanson J, Andrianopoulos A, Dougherty J, Govender NP, Denning DW, Chiller T, Thwaites G, van Doorn HR, Perfect J, Le T.

Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Nov;9(11):e1618-e1622. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00350-8.


Perspectives of Black women in the United States on salon-based intervention to promote the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV.

Johnson R, Myers D, McKellar M, Saint-Hillaire L, Randolph SD.

J Clin Nurs. 2021 Nov;30(21-22):3281-3289. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15838. Epub 2021 May 9.


The Role of Community Health Workers in HIV Care Engagement: A Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Perspectives in Tanzania.

Knettel BA, Fernandez KM, Wanda L, Amiri I, Cassiello-Robbins C, Watt MH, Mmbaga BT, Relf MV.

J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2021 Nov-Dec 01;32(6):682-692. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000267.


Don't see your paper listed? Make sure your publication is linked to the CFAR grant for funding. Visit the CFAR website for example text to use when acknowledging the CFAR and assistance by its Cores in your publications, abstracts, grant proposals, and presentations. 

Correction to our last newsletter: Dr. Tomaras is ranked third nationally among PIs in departments of surgery.


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